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Sunday, September 13, 2009

From the lovely ladies at CLAMP, a tarot deck featuring their dark and brooding Kamui. The cards are way to large for me to shuffle, but they are nice to look at. The top cards have their top (ha ha) cut off while the second set of cards in the pic. have the bottoms cut off because my scanner couldn't capture the whole image. Told you they were big! I tend to only use these cards in tarot spells instead of divining with them.The deck is much larger than others so I only use it in spell work. The cards feature characters from both sides of the struggle to either save or destroy the world. As with other anime decks, the images have no rhyme or reason for the cards they were placed on but it is a full deck of 78 cards. Lush and beautiful, you'll probably have to find these cards through an auction or at an anime con.

The numbered suit cards are illustrated in a style typical for many Japanese decks, which is to say they show patterned arrangements of suit symbols. For some reason, Japanese Tarot artists are not prone to adorn their pip cards with ornamentation or scrollwork, such as we often find in Italian, French, and Spanish decks. Still, this simplicity is aesthetically attractive, and I can even picture these cards being extracted from the larger deck and used for traditional card games.This set may not win over with every card, but it does have some elegant illustrations. It is also beautifully produced, with thick glossy cards that should last a very long time. Since I bought this set a few years ago, I am not sure of its current availability but I suspect it can be bought through Japanese retailers. The Miracle Tarot also appears from time to time on Ebay, usually at prices comparable to American book-deck sets.

The Tarot World Magazine is a new addition to the Tarot world. The front and back pages, done in ‘glossy” style, feature art from diverse decks, and act as wonderful bookends for the columns, articles and reviews contained within. The theme for each issue is focused on a randomly drawn card - the card for this issue is the Lovers. The cover for this issue features artwork by Jae Davis, along with the following quote from an interview with one of the leading lights of the Tarot community, Rachel Pollack: “That got me thinking about Tarot and thinking “what else can you see in these pictures?” (It is all about the pictures, you know!)The scans featured on the inside of the front cover are the Ace of Swords from the Miracle Tarot (Hakusensha, 1993), the Nine of Cups from the Universal Wirth Tarot (Lo Scarabeo, 2007), and the Medicine Wheel from the Herbal Tarot (Lo Scarabeo, 1988).The scans featured in the Empress Gallery (the inside and back of the back cover) include the Devil from the Dark Tarot Deck (Jose Noe Figueroa Angulo), the Two of Cups from the Karacol Tarot (Henry Chaplin), the Magician from the Staleknight Tarot (Vijay Rathinasamy), the Ace of Swords from the HP Tarot (Elly Pieper), the Sun from the Mystic Dream Tarot (Heidi Darras, available September 2008 from Llewellyn Worldwide Publishing), and the Queen of Discs (Patricia Notthafft).Featured in this issue are articles on enhancing relationships (Swati Prakash), the Pages (Christine Cover), Tarot and the stages of child development (Gayla Uslu), Storytellers: Test of Love (a story by Desiree Atchison), reading in public (Valentina Burton), and numbers (Kenneth Norris).The columns include an incredible interview with Rachel Pollack done by Stephen Winnick, a sneak preview of the Paulina Tarot by Christiana Gaudet, working with a Tarot journal (Stephanie Arwen-Lynch), the origins of the Court Cards (Nico Mara-McKay), reading the Tarot from home (Catriona), the World card and the planet Saturn (Issac Bradfield), obtaining teaching venues (and students!) (Winter Wren), and the Hermit (Part 2 of a 4 part series by Paul Hughes-Barlow).Deck and book reviews include the Universal Wirth Tarot (Amy George), the Herbal Tarot (Debbie Rossignol), The Only Tarot Book You’ll Ever Need (Janet Boyer), Miracle Tarot (Winter Wren), and Tarot Theory & Practice (Catherine Rowan).Special articles include Cooking With Tarot (Francesca Booth), BIT Snapshot: Hillary and Bill Clinton (Janet Boyer), and Spread Collector: Celtic Cross by the Numbers (Winter Wren).The puzzle page contains a cryptic message of its own! At the bottom of the page we see the following:“Hidden Symbols: Hidden throughout this magazine are 8 of the symbols discussed in Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone’s new book “The Secret Language of Tarot”. Can you find them?”In her “Letter From the Editor”, Heidi Snelgrove introduces new staff members, discusses the new Empress Gallery (which features Tarot artwork from new artists), and a separate project from TWM Publishing – the 2009 Tarot Professionals Appointment Book.I had the same problem with this issue of TWM that I did with the first one – that it took forever to arrive! There has been a notable improvement in the typographical and grammatical errors (although I do have an issue with the featured snippet from Paul Hughs-Barlow’s article, and in his bio he has an identity crisis that I am sure that he is not aware of!).The TWM is a project in and of the Tarot community. It has the capability of becoming something that truly reflects the needs and wants of this community. In order to do this, input – in the form of suggestions, reviews, articles and artwork are needed. What would you like to see in this magazine, and what could you contribute? The only limits here are in the minds of the members of the Tarot community!

The Miracle Tarot depicts the Fantasia-like world of Reiko Shimizu. Published in 1993 by Hakusensha in Japan, the set includes a book and 78 cards which are packaged in a beautiful and sturdy slipcase. Since the book is written entirely in the artist’s native language, however, many of us will be left to interpret his illustrations on our own.

While the package is deceptively compact, the deck itself is not; the cards are held as two stacks within a foam die-cut, and when both stacks are brought together the complete deck is over one and a half inches thick. Measuring about 2¼ by 4¾, each card is quite thick and the actual deck would present a challenge to anyone hoping to shuffle it in the usual way.A strong calligraphic influence can be seen throughout the designs, as in the flowing hair of Justice, in the exaggerated elongation of her sword, in the tail feathers of the Ace and Knight of Wands, in the swirl of fish on the Ace of Pentacles. The Ace cards are particularly striking, each featuring a different animal totem: rooster for Wands, butterfly for Swords, water-serpent for Cups, and fish for Pentacles. Some of these are brought into The Magician, who is shown above with butterfly, fish, and flying mermaid.Shimizu’s trumps are nicely rendered and colored, but are not really the most interesting designs in the deck; he seems to have had much more fun with the highly detailed court cards. Each depicts a world unique to its suit. The Page, Knight, Queen and King of Wands are all illustrated in a sunny yellow, with birds or bird feathers figuring into their costume; King of Wands (not shown here) is striking because of the dove perched in front of a shark’s jawbone. The Sword personages are fairy-like, each having butterfly wings on their back and all in magenta and orange tints. The court of Cups are mer-folk with crustacean horns, scale-like bodies, and water-serpent familiars in an underwater hue of blue-green. The Pentacles are in tones of blue-violet, each equipped with fish fins and lavish necklaces of gold coins. Many of the court figures wear highly detailed ornamentation.

Main charactersMinamino Noeru/NoelThe main character, Noeru is a gregarious teen who seems to suffer from extreme sister complex. Learning of his beloved twin's sudden transfer to a different school, he determinedly follows her and plans to have her break up with her new "love" so that they can be together again. However, he finds out that the school no longer has any open spot for a male transferee, so he has to be female to be admitted. Refusing to be discouraged by such minor inconveniences, Noeru does just that.Aggressive and temperamental, Noeru can also be very forward and playful. He is awfully possessive and protective of his sister, and gives deadly glares to anyone who makes a move on her. Even as a girl, he nonchalantly retains his boyish mannerisms, such as referring to himself as "ore" instead of the typical girly "atashi". His disguise consists of a half-wig that resembles Maria's long hair, a headband or bandanna, a pair of suppatsu worn underneath his school skirt, and a padded bra he 'borrowed' from Maria.Minamino MariaMaria is your typical 14-year old school girl. She falls in love with an older guy from a different school and transfers to that school to be closer to him, which obviously devastates her twin brother Noeru to the point he swallows his manly pride and wears a skirt and a half-wig in order to be with her. Of course, she is quite indignant to this, knowing fully well that Noeru will only disrupt her chances of getting together with her new love. She seems to be suffocated with her twin's affection and over protectiveness towards her, but she still loves him, annoying and frustrating as he may be at most times.Feminine and perky in nature, she can be a bit gullible at times and tends to be quick to judge. She is also quite superficial, but she is a very sweet girl who generally understands the sensitivity of other people's hearts. It is revealed that Maria is a popular figure in her new (and old) school and many guys are crushing on her, much to her twin's displeasure. She is a valued member of Morinomiya's girls' basketball team.Sasa RyuujiSasa is the ace player of Morinomiya's boys' basketball team and is also one of the school's campus crushes. He is a cool and easygoing guy who acts indifferent toward his admirers, saying he doesn't have any interest in girls. This 'phobia' of his actually has a history of its own, which will be revealed in the later parts of the manga. A natural sportsman, he is a complete fishing maniac.The first time he meets Noeru-girl, Sasa is instantly befuddled by his assertiveness, casually calling him by his name here and there and even mindlessly asking him a favor of making him the team's manager - just so he can look after his sister more. He realizes that Noeru is very different from the stereotypical girls in school and soon falls in love with him, much to Noeru's distress and Maria's amusement. However, when Noeru reveals to him his secret, he is very mortified, but after a moment of shock, he decides to continue being friends with him. To help Noeru conceal his true identity, they pose as a couple.Makimura MiyuQuiet, serious and secretive, Miyu is Noeru's roommate. She's a bit of a loner and sometimes stays out until very late at night. At first, she appears unfriendly to Noeru, but eventually becomes good friends with him when he helps her with her 'bug problems', which - unbeknownst to her - is actually a prank Noeru thoughtlessly pulled on her. Miyu, despite what people think of her, is actually a very nice and pleasant girl.There are many rumors about her circulating in school, like her involvement with a much older man. While she seems apathetic to the issue, Noeru becomes worried and even goes as far as to spy on her during one of her gimmicks, bringing a disgruntled Sasa with him. When things are eventually settled, Noeru - with the help of Maria - realizes that he may actually like Miyu as more than a friend, and surely, Miyu becomes the girl who is able to distract the main character from his unhealthy obsession with his sister. However, Miyu, due to a past experience, holds a deep resentment toward liars, which poses as a huge problem to cross-dresser Noeru and his growing feelings toward her. It is also discovered that she and Sasa share something else than a school later on in the story.

Secondary charactersHirobe KazuakiAlthough a secondary character, Hirobe is undoubtedly the key person in the story for being the one who initiated this whole fiasco. He is Maria's love interest, the main reason of her sudden school transfer. The coach of Morinomiya's basketball team, he is described as good-looking, mature, kind and compassionate. Noeru seems to dislike him for taking his beloved twin away from him, and is always finding a way to ruin Maria's attempts to get closer to him. When Maria is finally able to confess to him, she is disappointed to find out that he already has a girlfriend. Noeru subsequently rejoices with this, but Maria is still determined to win Hirobe's heart, which instantly turns his plans of bringing Maria back home into a puff of smoke. Hirobe is an alumni of Morinomiya and is currently attending Keiou University as a 2nd year college student.Hirobe YoshiakiHirobe's younger brother, Yoshiaki is the captain of Hino's basketball team, Morinomiya's rival school, and is a year older than Noeru and the others. Upon meeting Maria for the first time, he immediately asks her out, which obviously sparks extreme fury and jealousy from Noeru. Maria is unimpressed at first, but after hearing from Hirobe that Yoshiaki has liked her since the first time he saw her picture, she decides to date him. Yoshiaki has the looks and personality that every girl dreams of in a guy, and Maria is really happy to have a boyfriend like him. On the other hand, Noeru's hatred toward him seems to grow every time he sees him all lovey-dovey with his sister. However, when he finally realizes how much Maria likes Yoshiaki, he begrudgingly steps back, but only after he makes Yoshiaki promise *never* to hurt Maria. All is well after that, but seeing as Yoshiaki is a delightful young man, there will surely be a rival that will pop up and try to ruin his seemingly perfect relationship with Maria.Nakayama AkiraA senior high school student, Akira is 2 years older than Noeru and the rest. While her looks are noteworthy, her personality is deadly and calculating, and she makes her appearance in the manga as a threatening person to Maria. She is someone who knows fully well what she wants and will go to great lengths to obtain it with no care for whoever she hurts or steps on in the process. At this time, she has her eyes set on Yoshiaki. Initially, Maria is determined to not back down from her, but her resolve crumbles when she learns that Akira holds a history with Yoshiaki; they are childhood friends, and Yoshiaki actually loved Akira! Thus, Akira is able to bring back what is 'rightfully' hers, and Maria is left to experience her first major heartbreak. She is a bit interested with Sasa as well, although Sasa clearly dislikes her for bullying "Noeru's twin".Asou KanakoKanako is a chipper lass who is always on the lookout for the coolest guys in school. She is originally Maria's roommate, but became Miyu's when Miyu discovers Noeru's true identity. In a fit of anger, she tells Maria to exchange rooms with her, to which Maria wordlessly agrees, already knowing what probably happened. Like any student unfamiliar with Miyu, Kanako is initially wary of her, but soon befriends her after realizing that she's actually a nice and kind girl. Sympathetic and easy to talk to, it is evident that she and Maria are very good friends, seeing as she's always with Maria whenever the girl is depressed with something, listening to her problems and giving her advices. Kanako seems to have a crush on Sasa, and later on, with Tooru - who is actually Noeru posing as the twins' boy cousin. She is also a member of Morinomiya's girls' basketball team.Sakurai DaisukeDaisuke is a student from Noeru and Maria's old school, Higashiyama Jr. High. When he learns that Noeru has acquired a new best friend in the form of Sasa, he becomes quite jealous and instantly forms some sort of a rivalry with him. Nevertheless, Daisuke is a good guy. He's in love with Maria, and is totally distressed when he finds out that she already has Yoshiaki for a boyfriend. However, he gets his chance to date her after the two breaks up, and he becomes Maria's 2nd boyfriend in the manga. Then again, their relationship isn't any romantic at all; despite Daisuke's total devotion, Maria doesn't seem to return his feelings in the same degree and neglects - albeit unintentionally - her job as a girlfriend, like celebrating his birthday with him. Eventually, he breaks up with her, seeing no possible chances of ever making Maria love him the way he wants her to. Daisuke is also a good basketball player.Tachihara KarinLike Daisuke, Karin attends Noeru and Maria's former school. Rather stubborn and strong-willed, Karin has a crush on Noeru and will do anything to win him over. She is saddened upon finding out that Noeru already has a girl he likes in his new school, then gets pissed off when he tells her that the girl doesn't regard him the same. Despite her tendency to act impulsively, Karin is actually very sharp; it didn't take long for her to realize that Noeru is hiding something from her. Having no other choice, Noeru then tells her the truth and she threatens him that unless he wants his secret to be exposed, he has to go out with her. Of course, she doesn't really mean it. After making Noeru dress up in his girl version in front of her (as some sort of punishment for him rejecting her), she finally lets go of Noeru and even wishes him good luck - although in a teasing manner.Jirou Kurisu/ChrisKurisu is the lead vocalist of "Embrasse Moi", a famous band in Morinomiya. Flamboyant, expressive and narcissistic, he enjoys the constant attention given to him by his groupies and often acts overly confident because of this. He has an unusual penchant for girls who act mean and uninterested toward him, so when he meets Noeru-girl, he immediately becomes infatuated. He is very persistent with his "Honey", and goes to great lengths just to make Noeru fall for him. Of course, Noeru always ignores his advances, which only intensifies Kurisu's fondness for him. He dislikes Sasa for the fact that he's Noeru's 'boyfriend', and later, this hatred grows to immense heights when Sasa steals the title of "Most Popular Student" from him. After ultimately getting rejected by Noeru, Kurisu falls in love with Miyu, much to Noeru's horror. Later on, he discovers Noeru's secret and - with the help of an oblivious Kanako - proceeds to fool the boy into doing all sorts of things that will expose his true identity, albeit his schemes seem to thwart him for the worse in every turn. In the end, he falls for Kanako after she expresses her disappointment with him for trying to destroy Noeru and being a huge jerk.Iwasaki RirikoRiriko is a friendly and outgoing girl who takes an immediate liking to Sasa upon meeting him and Noeru in Harakuju. Due to her circle of friends consisting of mostly guys, she has come to be direct and very open to her feelings. She asks Sasa to be her boyfriend approximately an hour after they initially met, and while Sasa seems to be a bit apprehensive about it, he still decides to consider it. A huge sports and fishing fanatic, Noeru regards Ririko as someone who can be Sasa's ideal girl, so it's no surprise to him that Sasa eventually resolves to take Ririko's offer. However, their relationship is short-lived; Sasa meekly admits that even though she possesses the qualities he looks for in a girl, he can never make himself date her because he already has his heart set on someone else. Ririko is undeniably upset, but decides to become a good sport and remains his friend despite that.